Siemens has set up a $100m venture capital fund will that will invest in young and dynamic companies that “have the potential to change the landscape of manufacturing and industrial automation”. The Industry of the Future Fund will complement the company’s existing venture capital funds which typically invest in more mature start-ups.

The new fund will back start-up companies early in their lifecycle and aims to foster partnerships with companies that will transform industrial markets, or even create completely new ones through pioneering technologies.

The fund has already made two investments: in Lagoa, a Canadian company that is developing cloud-based, high-performance 3D visualisation software; and CounterTack, a business based in Boston in the US, that is developing next-generation cyber-security software.

“As digitisation and software are becoming increasingly important for manufacturers to compete in the global marketplace, the Industry of the Future Fund will support Siemens' Industry 4.0 strategy by providing capital to those companies whose innovative technologies and vision have the potential to change the landscape of manufacturing and industrial automation,” says Siegfried Russwurm, CEO of Siemens’ Industry Sector and a member of its managing board.

Russwurm: backing companies with vision

The new fund has been launched by Siemens’ Industry Sector and its venture capital arm, which will manage the fund alongside its existing venture capital activities.